


Friendships and Hardships

by sabercrystal



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Underfell, Alternate Universe - Underswap, Classic Papyrus, Classic Sans - Freeform, More Alternate Universes?, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Underfell Papyrus, Underfell Sans, Underswap Papyrus, Underswap Sans, lots of swearing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-14
Updated: 2016-06-07
Packaged: 2018-06-08 07:34:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,066
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6845059
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sabercrystal/pseuds/sabercrystal
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Everything was fairly normal in the timelines.  Classic Sans decides to show Classic Pap what's in their basement... and Sans feels something is watching them.<br/>Meanwhile, UF Paps and UF Sans get in a fight.<br/>In another timeline, US Sans and US Pap find a new area in the Underground.</p><p>And then everything breaks.  (No smut)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Shifts

**Author's Note:**

> this is my first fanfic, so uh, please go easy on me :)

**((Classic POV** **:))**

Sans had made it back home, itching to grab his key.  God, how he wanted to finish his project.  It’s been awhile since he’d been down there.  Perhaps he could finally get it to work, bringing that clutz of a doctor back into existence.  The moment he opened the front door, he was greeted enthusiastically by his brother.

“SANS, WELCOME HOME!  GOOD JOB NOT SLACKING OFF TODAY AT YOUR POST!”

“yeah, no problem bro.” Sans had his thoughts placed elsewhere.

Papyrus noticed Sans’ gaze, “SANS, IS SOMETHING WRONG?”

“uh, yeah... well, no?” All of a sudden Sans couldn’t think.

Papyrus always had a feeling when something was wrong with Sans, both physically and mentally.  He caught wind of the situation, realized what he was thinking. “BROTHER ARE YOU THINKING OF RETURNING TO THE BASEMENT AGAIN?”

Sans flinched.  He didn’t expect that.   _How had he known of the basement?_ Then again it is _their_ house.  How couldn’t he have found it?

“IT’S JUST, YOU ALWAYS LOCK ME OUT.  WHAT DO YOU DO IN THERE ANYWAY?” Papyrus was getting curious.  Oh no.

_Wait a minute._ Sans thought.   _He’s a big bones now.  He might even be able to help…_

“HELLO?  SANS?”

Sans looked up and flashed a very worried grin.  “uhh, hey pap?”

_He’s gonna ask him._

“YES, BROTHER?”

_He should.  He needs to._

_He will._

“d-do you wanna see what i’m working on in the basement?” Sans turned his head away, looking to the floor awaiting a response to the question he’s partially regretted asking.

“OF COURSE, BROTHER!  I’D LOVE TO!  IT’S BEEN AWHILE SINCE I’VE TAKEN PART IN SCIENCEY THINGS AS A LAB ASSISTANT!” Papyrus overjoyed at this development between him and his brother.  They were finally going to bond over a similar trait between them!  But then, he realized his mistake.  Sans doesn’t know that he remembers the days in the lab, that he remembers the doctor, the experiments, everything.  Sans doesn’t know he absolutely knows what’s actually in the basement.  Sans looked immediately distressed.

“p-pap, you… you remember the lab?”  Sans’ voice was shaky, and he looked at Papyrus in fear.

“I… UH… ER- *SIGH* YES BROTHER, I REMEMBER EVERYTHING.  I PUT TWO AND TWO TOGETHER WHEN _HE_ DISAPPEARED.” Papyrus explained.

Sans’ curiosity grew.  How much did he actually know?  If he knew of _him_ , then how did he manage to hide it from him so easily?

“go on…”

“...*SIGH*... WELL, I REMEMBER ESCAPING THE CORE, AND AN EXPLOSION, BUT THEN SHORTLY AFTERWARDS EVERYTHING WAS FINE.  YOU TOLD ME TO STAY PUT AND YOU VANISHED.  I DIDN’T MOVE, AND THEN A YOUNG SCIENTIST SPOTTED ME AND ASKED IF I WAS LOST.” Sans knew where this was going. “I RESPONDED, ‘NO, I’M WAITING FOR MY BROTHER TO COME BACK WITH DR. GASTER.”

_So he does remember.  God, does he remember the experiment’s he’s done on_ US?

“HE TOLD ME THERE WAS NO DOCTOR BY THE NAME OF GASTER WHO WORKED IN THE CORE.  THEN I WAS CONFUSED.  ‘HE’S THE ROYAL SCIENTIST!’ I SAID.  THEN HE SAID THERE WAS NO ROYAL SCIENTIST.  THE KING WAS APPOINTING A NEW ONE.  AFTER THAT IT WAS KIND OF A BLUR NOW, HOWEVER, I BELIEVE YOU RETURNED AND BROUGHT ME TO SNOWDIN WITHOUT A WORD.”

Sans knows the rest of the story.  He never even bothered to ask Papyrus if he remembered him.  Sans wish he hadn’t remembered the painful experience they both had to endure as children.  Papyrus had just been so innocent, yet so trusting.  Sans supposed he was like that, too.  I mean, considering the fact that he’s trying to bring their creator, their father, their _oppressor,_ back into existence.

 

Sans was trembling hard at this point without realizing it. “s-so... do you… remember… the experiments, t-too?” Papyrus looked at his brother with concern.  He did remember, but he wasn’t too badly hurt.  He only assumed that Sans got the rougher half of the deal.

“BROTHER, I’M NOT SURE WHAT HE DID TO YOU, BUT I WAS NEVER EVER TRULY HURT IN THOSE EXPERIMENTS.  WE HAVEN’T BEEN SUBJECTED TO ANY MORE EXPERIMENTS WHEN WE WERE PROMOTED TO LAB ASSISTANTS, YOU KNOW.”

“well, _you_ weren’t…” Sans’ eye sockets went black.

Papyrus wasn’t sure if he heard correctly.  All he could muster up to say was, “SANS?”

~~~

_“PAPYRUS, CAN YOU BRING THESE TO ALPHYS FOR ME PLEASE?”_

_“YES, SIR!”_

_“heya, pap, don’t run in the labs, m’kay?  don’t want you gettin’ hurt around here.”_

_Papyrus waved and shut the door behind him.  Sans turned towards Gaster.  He motioned towards the operating table._

_“so, what today g?” Sans sounded casual, yet there was a hint of terror in his voice._

_“I’M SORRY SANS, THIS ONE IS GOING TO BE A BIT MORE… PAINFUL THAN LAST TIME.”_

_‘Sorry’ my ass._

_The faint sound of a power saw echo’d in his head as pain struck._

_‘-ans!’_

~~~

“SANS!” Papyrus draped over his brother, who would not stop trembling.

Sans jumped and held his head where that experiment took place.  He could feel the phantom pain engulf him, making his SOUL tremble.  No matter how hard Sans tried to hide it, Papyrus could feel his pain.  Papyrus brought him forward and surprised him with a hug.  Sans was hesitant, but he hugged back.

Papyrus gently stroked his skull, and with the calmest voice he can collect, he said, “ _It’s over now.  It won’t happen again.”_

 

Finally he calmed down.  He chuckled.  “hey bro?  i think we should finally let you see what i’m doing in the basement.”

Papyrus’ face lit up.  “INDEED BROTHER!  LET’S GO!”  He bounced up and down in excitement.

Sans was caught up in the moment and thus unable to sense there was a shift in the void.

 

 

**((Underswap POV:))**

“PAPYRUUUUS, CAN YOU PLEASE NOT BE A LAZYBONES TODAY?  I HAVE A FEELING THAT SOMETHING’S GONNA HAPPEN TODAY FOR SURE!” Sans exclaimed to his lazy brother, whom had been napping on the couch.

“PAP, C’MOOOON!  WE GOTTA GO OUT!” Sans got more annoyed.

“PAPYR-” Sans cut himself off when he felt something shift in the void.  This was definitely a timeline related shift.  He _thought_ he felt something was gonna happen today.  He’s hardly ever wrong about that.  His SOUL tensed up.  This was an irregular shift in a part of the Underground that he wasn’t familiar with.  He gathered some magic, getting ready to teleport to the location.

Papyrus felt a shift of magic within the room, waking him up suddenly.  He quickly took notice of his brother with his serious expression.  Last time Sans had a look like that is just before the Core blew up when Gaster disappeared, only for them to find that Gaster had lost memories of both Sans and Papyrus.

“bro?” Papyrus reached over to Sans, almost terrified at his expression.  “what’s happening?”

Sans looked at Papyrus and stopped conjuring more magic.  “Pap, something’s happening.  There’s an area of the underground that’s shifted.  Our timeline might be compromised.” At this point, Papyrus freaked out.  Sans used his inside ‘lab professional’ voice.  Now he KNEW this was serious.  Pap knows that his brother always had a deep connection of the multiverse.

Papyrus was determined to find out what was going on.  “alright bro, bring me along too.  i gotta check this place out.”  Sans smiled, almost evilly, if that was even possible for a little marshmallow like him.  However, Papyrus knew very well, His little Blueberry Sans can be a scary and powerful monster.

Sans took his brother’s shoulder and continued to conjure more magic.  It took a little longer to use a shortcut to a place he’s never been to before, but it’s of course possible for Sans to do so.

They travelled to a cave system that seemed to be cut off from the rest of the underground.  It was lit by blue glowing echo flowers and a serene glowing waterfall.  The scenery was gorgeous for a cave, it was more beautiful than waterfall, and Sans’ face lit up.  “WHOOOOA!”

Papyrus tried to keep his composure, but very quickly got nauseous.  He couldn’t stand upright as dizziness consumed him and stumbled forward.  Sans caught him before he could fall.  “WHOOPS, SORRY PAP!  FORGOT THAT TRAVELLING THAT WAY GETS YOU SICK!” Sans chuckled.

Another shift happened nearby, silencing Sans’ cheery mood.  “WELL, WE CAN’T TELEPORT ANY CLOSER OR THE SHIFT MAY GET WORSE, SO WE’RE GOING TO HAVE TO TRAVEL ON FOOT NOW.  THAT WOULD PROBABLY BE BEST FOR YOU, TOO.”

They started walking.

The blue surroundings had turned purple.

 

**((Underfell POV:))**

“b-boss?” Sans sneaked his way into their house.  He really had to talk to Papyrus about something.  Sans felt something was wrong, but he didn’t actually know how to bring it up.

He was shaking, bad.  His anxiety got worse when he felt something was wrong.  He put himself in the corner of his room with the lights out.  He needed to think.

 _‘What if the boss doesn’t believe me?  God, now that I think about it, he probably wouldn’t.  Not without evidence.  I_ could _say that I found a breach, but I can’t pinpoint where!  DAMMIT, EVERYTHING IS ALWAYS AGAINST ME!’_

He was sweating, shaking, and holding his head with his eyes shut in an upright fetal position.  Sans continued thinking to himself.

_‘I should’ve stayed at my shitty post!  He’ll probably kill me now!  Oh God, I can’t take any more fucking torture!  I’m fucking DEAD!’_

Sans heard a familiar voice come towards the house and froze.   _Oh fuck.  Oh fuck.  Oh fuck.  Oh shit._

Papyrus had come home.

He hadn’t used his magic because his brother forbade him from using it when not in his presence or defending himself.  Sans bit his finger, and not wanting to get into trouble, he attempted to teleport back to his post.   _It’s better if other monsters attacked him rather than his brother._ He thought to himself.

His eye glowed a bright scarlet red, letting him teleport.

Papyrus took notice of the red glow under his brother’s door when he came in.  He looked around to see if anybody was behind him, then opened his brother’s door, only to find that it was empty.  There was a hint of his magic residue in the room, still fresh.  His eye twitched.   _Did he just use his magic without his permission?_  He inhaled as much air he could ‘breathe’, and let out a yell that echo’d throughout all of Snowdin.

“ **SAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANS!!!** ”

Sans successfully teleported to his sentry station, leaving him to rest for a good minute.  Then the echo of Papyrus’ scream rang through the air, causing him to jump at the sound of his name from so far away.  He even heard squeals of other monsters that heard his voice.

It was dead quiet.  Sans was shivering.  He’d absolutely forgotten.  Papyrus can sense if he uses his magic.   _‘God I’m such a fucking IDIOT!’_  Magic tears started to form and he started to sob.  Sans paused as he had sensed another shift, causing his shivering and crying to stop, and turned towards the area where he knew it came from.

For once, he thought his brother wasn’t much of a threat right now.  No matter what, he’d always love his brother.  He had something more important to take care of.

He walked towards the direction of the shift.  Magic coursing through his bones.

Papyrus was in a real grumpy mood now.  Sans had disobeyed orders from him AND ran away using TELEPORTATION no less!   _‘That’s the LAST STRAW!  You sorry excuse for a brother!  I’ll end you!’_  He stomped out of the house, slamming the door so hard the hinges cracked.  Papyrus headed towards the forest, where he could feel Sans’ magic residue.

And something didn’t feel right to Papyrus.  Sans isn’t careless enough to use magic like this.  Something boiled through his bones.   _Was he teasing him?_  If so, he’s partially proud for having the balls to do so, but he was also going to _break_ him for thinking he could possibly _stand up_ to _him_.  He kept thinking of all the possibilities of why his brother would purposefully lead a trail to him.

Perhaps something related to the experiments they both endured when they were baby bones?  Sans had always been more in tune with the void, which allowed him to teleport in the first place.  Maybe he wanted to let me witness a fight to prove he was strong.   _Ha, doubt it._

Sans wasn’t used to using this much magic before.  His walking got slower and his vision blurry.  He was getting close.  There was another shift - this one causing Sans to fall over from the impact on his magic.

Using magic now would be unstable, so he’d left it alone, for now.  Sans got up, and pushed forward.

That is, until his SOUL turned a blue, and was flung straight into a tree.

“SANS YOU NUMBSKULL!  YOU USED YOUR MAGIC WITHOUT PERMISSION!”

“b-boss…” Sans looked over his brother’s figure and started seeing familiar symbols, making his head hurt.  There was another shift, giving Sans a really bad headache.

“urgh!” he held his head, and Papyrus looked at him questionably.  He wasn’t the one causing him _head_ pain.

“papyrus.” Sans looked directly into Papyrus’ eyes with a strict face of determination.

“WHO SAID YOU CAN CALL ME BY THAT NAME?” Papyrus twitched at the sound of his name coming from his brother’s mouth and flung bones straight into his leg bone and to the side of his head.  Sans didn’t even flinch.

“can you feel it?  the shifts in the void?” Sans was desperate.  He needed his brother to understand that something bad was happening.

Papyrus kept him mounted to the tree, seemingly uninterested in his words as he flung him right through the tree into another.

“pap, please… something’s wrong.  you need to stop using magic here!  it’s making the void shift more!” Sans couldn’t get his brother to listen to him.  He wouldn’t understand what he was saying anyway.

“THERE’S NO EXCUSE FOR ME NOT PUNISHING YOU BECAUSE OF YOUR OBVIOUS ENDEAVOR TO DISOBEY!” Papyrus scolded harshly.

Sans’ eye sockets went black.  “bro.   **p l e a s e**.”  His tone got serious.  Papyrus twitched again.

Another shift.  Sans’ eye began to flicker red.

“SANS.  YOU ARE A POOR EXCUSE FOR A BROTHER.  I SHOULD JUST END YOUR PATHETIC LIFE NOW SO I DON’T HAVE TO CONTINUE TO TOLERATE THIS.” _Now_ Sans flinched.

He looked to the floor, and that was his breaking point.  Sans is trying to save his sorry brother’s ass and everyone else in this hellish universe, and doesn’t even get the help he wanted from his brother the _one fucking time he needs him_.  He thought of all people, _Papyrus would understand_.  No, he was sick of it all.  He’s done trying to save a pathetic world where caring was non-existent.

Papyrus flung him into another tree.  Sans found the pain stronger, yet more relieving.  “ **E N O U G H.** ”  Sans’ eyes burned red and he had the widest grin he could possibly ever hope to achieve.

“ **Y O U  D O N ‘ T  C A R E  A B O U T  T H I S  W O R L D.** ” Papyrus didn’t have a grip on his soul anymore.  He had no control over his brother.  Sans ignored the blinding pain the last shift caused.  It was unbearable, but he didn’t care anymore.

Sans suddenly appeared right in front of Papyrus, grinning with his magic overflowing within him.  Sans had completely broke free of Papyrus’ grasp.

“ **L E T  T H I S  W O R L D  S U F F E R .** ”

Papyrus looked at his brother in fear, he’d never been able to overpower him, let alone throw out threats that were this intimidating.  Even though Sans’ leg was nearly shattered, he walked on it like it was nothing.  In a quick moment of reflex, Papyrus went on to check his brother’s stats.

**LV 9̨͉͚͍͛̋͑̕9̻͇̮̇̔͂̆ͅ9̘͇̤̯͒̄͌͋9̻̗̻̞̓͊̍͊9̮̰̝̭̔̀̎̕9͖̖͎̮̐̌̎̕**

**HP ?̤̺̼̻̓̇͆͘?̨̲͓͓̈́̐̔̇?͕̙̞̫͌́̑̈́?̧͖̲͉͒͒̾̕?̡͈̹̖̈́̾̈́̀?͎͉̯̉͘͘͘ͅ**

A wide expression of terror struck Papyrus and Sans grasped his soul and pinned him to a tree, forcing him to watch what to expect now that he didn’t show any care for his actions.

“ **i can only take you with me.** ”

A barrage of gaster blasters appeared all around Sans.

 

 

**((Underswap POV:))**

“SO, PAPYRUS, ARE YOU FEELING ALRIGHT NOW?” Sans asked nervously, actually wondering if Papyrus had gotten over his nausea.

“yeah, i’m fine bro.  are you alright?  you look a little, out of it right now.” Papyrus watched as his brother slouched as he walked, looking at the floor.  They’ve been walking through this cave system for a while now.

“AH, UH, HEHEH, DON’T WORRY ABOUT ME!  I’M JUST FINE!” Sans put up a hard to believe smile.

“sans... how many more shifts have there been since we got here?”

“...THREE...” Sans didn’t want to show it, but he was exhausted.  “I THINK THEY’VE CALMED DOWN… BUT I’M NOT ENTIRELY SURE.”

They reached a dark part of the cave, and in the shadows they spotted what looked to be a machine of some kind.  Another shift occurred, this time Sans had to scream from the pain built up in his head.  “AGH!”  It pushed him to where he fell on his knees and had to hold his head up.

“sans!” Papyrus cried out.

“I-I’M OKAY BRO, JUST… G-GIVE ME A MINUTE…”  The headache got worse… and now his magic started _malfunctioning_ , causing his eyes to flicker blue.

In a state of panic for his brother’s wellbeing, Papyrus checked Sans’ stats.

**LV 9̨͉͚͍͛̋͑̕9̻͇̮̇̔͂̆ͅ9̘͇̤̯͒̄͌͋9̻̗̻̞̓͊̍͊9̮̰̝̭̔̀̎̕9͖̖͎̮̐̌̎̕**

**HP ?̤̺̼̻̓̇͆͘?̨̲͓͓̈́̐̔̇?͕̙̞̫͌́̑̈́?̧͖̲͉͒͒̾̕?̡͈̹̖̈́̾̈́̀?͎͉̯̉͘͘͘ͅ**

Papyrus squinted to see if he saw those stats correctly.  They were bugging out!  That LV can’t be right!  And his HP was fluctuating so much, it’s unreadable!  What was the shift _doing_ to him?

“N-NGGAAAAH… HHHH ggggHHHh” Sans cried out.

“sans!  hang on!”

Papyrus was freaking out.  He never ever wanted to have to do this, but it seemed like he had no choice.  He summoned up his magic, his eye glowing orange and bright, and hugged Sans, transferring any and all pain to him instead of Sans.

“P-PAP, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?”

“sh-shut up!  i’m helping you!”

“PAP, DON’T!  I-I CAN HANDLE IT!” Sans was sobbing.

“no, you can’t!” Papyrus can see why Sans finally broke down, the pain was like someone ran you over with a bus covered in spikes, fire, and lemon juice, while someone else literally blew up your head with dynamite over and over and over.

“HHH-nnnghhhheeeeEEEH…!” Papyrus was panting and trembling uncontrollably.

 

“PAPS!  WHY DID YOU DO THAT!  I WAS TRYING TO **PROTECT** **_YOU_ **!”

“it-gUH-it’s f-fine s-sans.  ngggh…” Papyrus’ vision was wonky, but from afar the machine looked different - it was glowing.

“brother, i need y-you t-to activate that machine…”

“BUT-”

“ **n o w !** ” Sans had a flash of fear from the deep tone of Pap’s voice, then a flash of determination.  He ran to the machine.

 

 

**((Classic POV:))**

Sans showed Papyrus the machine in the basement.  Papyrus took immediate liking to this mystery machine.  He found it was familiar, somehow.  Sans didn’t really feel like telling him how he can help other than it was a machine made to connect to the void, so he let Pap try and mess around with it himself.  He could always return to his previous blueprints and fix it later.

“SANS?  YOU DON’T LOOK SO GOOD.” Papyrus never lied, Sans felt something was iffy about today.

“wha-?  nah bro, it’s just… something feels off.” Sans looked around.

“OFF HOW?” Papyrus was still screwing some bolts in the machine.

“like... someone’s watching us.”

Sans hadn’t been able to feel any of the shifts in the void that Underswap and Underfell were experiencing, but he did feel a shift in the air, as if someone was watching them through a window of some sort.

“DONE!” Papyrus exclaimed.  Sans jumped.  It’s only been like, 15 minutes?  What could he have done in 15 minutes?

Sans came over to look at what he’s done to change the machine.  Overall, the craftwork was that of an expert, and he was more than surprised at the result of what he’s accomplished compared to what he’s been working on fixing for _years_.

“paps?”

“YES, BROTHER?”

“you’re a genius!”  Sans was actually positive this could work.  “i just need to double check everything, and then we can try it out!”  Papyrus’ face lit up like a Christmas tree.  He made his brother so proud!

All he did was copy the one that was in the Core last time, but he noticed that there were flaws the old one that made it blow up - so he made sure everything was flawless!

Papyrus realized that now he knows why Sans could never have finished this.  Papyrus is a perfectionist, Sans is a lazy bones.

“everything looks ay - oh - kay!”  Sans had a gleeful smile on his face.  “ready to test it out?”

Papyrus closed his eyes and proudly stood tall and replied, “OF COURSE BROTHER, FOR THE GREAT PAPYRUS CANNOT WAIT TO-” *THUD* Papyrus opened his eyes.

Sans had been kicked with all of the shifts in the void at once, causing the worst pain you could imagine (like being sucked in a black hole and torn to shreds and put back together in every wrong way, while being poked with unnecessarily hot objects while cats ate you alive, along with being put through a gas chamber where you were suffocating, in addition with the bus with spikes and fire stated earlier), and fell with a _thud_ silencing Papyrus’ proud moment.  He couldn’t even make a sound, he was in gruesome pain.

“SANS!” Papyrus tried to lift him off the floor, only causing more pain with every movement.  Sans’ eye had been flickering with fluctuating magic levels that Papyrus couldn’t quite understand, all he knew is that he was in a lot of pain.

After a full minute, Sans started to cough, making the pain somehow worse than it already was, almost like his body was actually starting to split through time and space -

_Shit.  He had to turn on the machine, NOW.  Or this would be another Core explosion coming right from HIM as the Core._

With all the energy he could muster, he spoke.  “p-pap... act...ivate th...e hhh… m **ach i n e!** ”

Papyrus without a second thought did what he was told.  Sans was visibly glitching apart, and even Papyrus knew what that meant.

**((Meanwhile:))**

**(Underswap)** Papyrus saw himself visibly glitching apart, struggling to keep his sanity in check as well as consciousness awake.

 **(Underfell)** Papyrus watched as Sans had been glitching apart, along with that grin of terror he saw.  He summoned at LEAST 40 Blasters.

  
  


_Classic Papyrus flipped the switch on the machine._

_Underswap Sans pushed the button on the cave’s machine._

_Underfell Sans pointed his barrage of Gaster Blasters toward the pinpoint of the shifts._

  
_Then there was a big bright white light that consumed them all._


	2. Cold Shoulder

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The dramatic meetup.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Blue = Underswap Sans  
> Orange = Underswap Papyrus  
> Edge = Underfell Papyrus  
> Red = Underfell Sans  
> Classic Sans and Papyrus are just Sans and Papyrus.

_Then there was a big bright white light that consumed them all._

  
  


Blue was confused. He'd appeared next to his brother outside the cave. This space didn’t feel like their space at all. He looked around, and noticed that they were in the middle of Snowdin Forest. Papyrus had yet to wake up. His soul was in tact, thank goodness for that. But he was sleeping like the dead, and that put him in an uncomfortable state of concern. He decided to wait with Papyrus there. At least skeletons don't get cold. He was on watch for any potential threats to him or his brother. Luckily, all of his magic had been restored.

 

Blue sensed familiar magic coming from behind them. He turned around and listened like a hawk.

  
  


“YOU’RE INSANE! HOW ARE YOU NOT DUST? HONESTLY! WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED?! I SHOULD JUST DUST YOU MYSELF RIGHT NOW! YOU’RE TOO DANGEROUS TO KEEP ALIVE!”

  
  


Blue looked at Papyrus lying next to him. It sounded exactly like him if he were louder! He didn’t like the way the one-sided conversation sounded, and then heard the sound of a Blaster forming. Immediately, Blue teleported in front of the monster giving those ugly threats - and to his surprise, finds his brother’s edgy lookalike.

  
The Blaster had already been formed and fired - Yet Blue's quick reflexes stopped the attack with a single bone. Blue looked back to what he was about to dust in the first place, then finally letting it sink in that the monster lying unconscious and near dead in the snow was another edgy version of himself - and this was another version of Papyrus… So that means... they’ve travelled timelines. No, they've travelled _universes_.

 

“What do you think you're doing?” Blue stared down this edgy Papyrus, we'll call him 'Edge', with daggers in his tone.

“AND WHO MIGHT YOU BE? YOU LOOK LIKE THE MARSHMALLOW VERSION OF MY PIECE OF GARBAGE BROTHER I WAS GOING TO LAY WASTE TO.” Papyrus coldly remarked.

“Me? I'm not important. Not to _you_ anyway. But your _brother_ is _unconscious_ and you tried to _kill him?_ ”

“HE NEARLY KILLED US BOTH! HE'S GONE INSANE! HE STARTED GLITCHING OUT AND SPAWNED OVER 40 BLASTERS AT ME!”

Blue's eye sockets went black. “ **IF HE'S A VERSION OF MYSELF THEN HE WAS ONLY TRYING TO GET YOUR ATTENTION TO PROTECT YOU, AND THE FACT THAT YOU'RE STILL ALIVE MEANS HE STILL CARES. SO** _ **DON'T GIVE ME THIS**_ _ **SHIT**_ **.** ” He was surprised at himself. He's never sworn before. It always made him cringe, but seeing Edge Papyrus not give a crap about his own brother set him off.

Also, glitching out? Papyrus started glitching out when that last shift happened. Blue asked questionably, “DID YOUR SANS MENTION ANYTHING ABOUT A SHIFT?”

Edge realized where they happened to end up. If this was another Sans, they were in a different timeline – a different universe apart from their own. He wasn't intimidated by a shorter, marshmallow-looking version of his brother. “WHAT DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH ANYTHING?”

“ **A N S W E R T H E Q U E S T I O N.** ” Blue put on his signature evil grin and voice for true intimidation.

Papyrus flinched at the similar grin and voice he saw and heard in his own Sans when his very life and universe was threatened. He shook it off. He's stronger than this pipsqueak, he just knows it! He's always been stronger than his brother! That's right! This Sans is no different!

Papyrus attempted to make his soul blue, but he couldn't grasp it. _How is this Sans so strong?_

“MWEH HEH HEH! THE MAGNIFICENT SANS _**ISN'T AFFECTED BY BLUE MAGIC WHEN HE'S ANGRY**_.” He looked towards Papyrus with a death glare, giving Papyrus a sense of familiar fear. “I HAVE TO GET BACK TO _MY_ PAPYRUS. I'M TAKING _YOUR_ SANS WITH ME TOO.”

“W-WAIT!” Papyrus wasn't sure how to negotiate with this Sans, he'd been used to yelling at Sans until he listened or tortured him until he learned his lesson. “I... YES HE MENTIONED SOMETHING ABOUT A SHIFT.” He gave in to this little blueberry marshmallow version of his brother.

“AND WHY DIDN'T YOU LISTEN TO HIM?”

“BECAUSE HE DISOBEYED ORDERS SO THERE WAS NO REASON FOR ME TO LISTEN TO HIM. I DON'T EVEN REMEMBER WHAT HE ACTUALLY SAID!”

“ ** _MAYBE THIS TIME AROUND, YOU SHOULD LISTEN TO YOUR BROTHER._ ” **Blue took this Sans and teleported him next to his Papyrus, and looked at them both with deep concern – they had been through the same gruesome pain. Immediately he returned to face edgy Papyrus.

“WHERE DID YOU TAKE HIM?” Papyrus actually looked concerned for his brother, even after almost killing him.

“I'LL TELL YOU IF YOU PROMISE NOT TO HURT ANYONE HERE.” Blue's voice was considerate, yet he was ready to fight if he needed to.

“I... JUST... *SIGH* I NEVER WANTED TO ACTUALLY DUST HIM... I WAS JUST... AFRAID OF WHAT HAPPENED IN _OUR_ UNIVERSE AND DIDN'T WANT IT TO HAPPEN AGAIN...” Edgy Papyrus had magic tears forming in his eye sockets, and fell on his knees. “I-I PROMISE I WON'T HURT ANYONE...”

Blue gave him a side grin. He was proud that even in other universes they really _do_ care about each other no matter what. Even if he did try to kill him, it was out of pure fear, and the blast from the blaster wasn't even a powerful blast to begin with. Aside from edgy Papyrus' sobbing, he could have sworn he heard another Papyrus.

“S~SANS? P...PLEASE WAKE UP!” The distant voice came from the opposite direction of where the unconscious Sans and Papyrus were laying. Blue and Edge stopped making any movements or noise to listen closer.

“SANS! PLEASE! I DON'T LIKE THIS!” The voice sounded like Papyrus for sure, but louder than Blue's Pap and less edgy than Edge. They were crying.

“Another one?” Blue was quiet. Edge had already ceased his crying and looked over at Blue.

“ARE YOU...” Edge said, and before he could finish speaking, Blue had teleported away. “...OKAY.” Edge sat down in the snow with his arms crossed. ' _I really wish he took me with him. I need to assess the situation...'_

  
  


“PAPYRUS?” Blue had appeared right behind this other version of Papyrus. He was wearing a battle body similar to his, which Blue found a little funny. He'd never known what Papyrus would look like wearing a battle body. Papyrus was startled. “OH, I'M SORRY FOR SCARING YOU!” Blue looked over at the Sans he was trying to wake up. ...And boy, he didn't want to believe what he was seeing. This Sans looked incredibly damaged, and his soul had a _lot_ of cracks in it, dimming and flickering with little light. He was bleeding, and there were a lot of bone fractures to add to it.

“S-SANS?” Papyrus looked at Blue quizzingly. Blue looked at Papyrus and kneeled next to him. “UHHH... NO TIME TO EXPLAIN THAT, DO YOU KNOW ANY HEALING MAGIC?”

Papyrus nodded. “I-I'VE BEEN TRYING TO HEAL HIM BUT MY MAGIC ISN'T WORKING!”

Blue knew he couldn't leave this Sans here for even a second. He held out his hands and conjured a large field of green magic, completely surrounding Sans. “PAPYRUS, I'M GOING TO TRY TO HEAL HIM THE BEST I CAN. FOR NOW I HAVE SOMETHING TO ASK YOU TO DO FOR ME.”

Papyrus nodded once more, surprised at this intense level of healing magic being formed.

“OKAY, SO I CAN EXPLAIN NOW, SO I SHOULD TELL YOU THAT I'M ANOTHER SANS FROM ANOTHER UNIVERSE. THERE'S ANOTHER ONE LAYING UNCONSCIOUS THAT LOOKS LIKE ME BUT HAS SHARP TEETH AND WEARS RED AND BLACK. HE'S NEXT TO ANOTHER VERSION OF YOU ALSO UNCONSCIOUS WEARING AN ORANGE HOODIE.” Blue didn't want this Papyrus to get into any trouble with Edge. But he needed his help. “IF YOU GO DOWN THAT WAY THEN YOU SHOULD ALSO COME ACROSS ANOTHER VERSION OF YOU THAT'S A LITTLE... EDGY. I'M GONNA NEED YOU TO FIND HIM TO HELP BRING THAT SANS AND PAPYRUS HERE. YOU GOT ALL THAT?”

Papyrus again nodded. He was baffled, but his Sans seemed to be in good hands. “THANKS! ALSO, DON'T LET THAT OTHER PAPYRUS INTIMIDATE YOU. TELL HIM THAT BLUE SENT YOU, AND THE OTHER SANS AND PAPYRUS AREN'T TOO FAR FROM WHERE HE IS NOW. GOOD LUCK!”

Papyrus took off without another word. Blue looked at this Sans' health.

HP: 0.003/1

_...How are you alive? It must be your Papyrus... He's quite the brother isn't he!_ He chuckled nervously, then checked his stats again.

HP: 0.004/1

_...This is going to take a while._

  
  


Papyrus dashed through the forest in the direction Blue pointed. He knew his way around Snowdin forest fairly well, so this wasn't an issue. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted a sillouette and walked towards it. Getting closer to the sillouette, he saw hints of red and black.

Papyrus never thought asking for his own name would be weird, since he calls himself _THE GREAT PAPYRUS_ all the time. “P-PAPYRUS?”

The figure turned around, and Edge gave Papyrus a death glare. Papyrus ignored it. The only thing he was afraid of was losing his brother - not a spiky version of himself.

“UM, BLUE SENT ME HERE. HE TOLD ME TO TELL YOU TO HELP BRING YOUR BROTHER AND HIS BROTHER OVER TO HIM AND MY BROTHER.” _Wowie, that sounds confusing._

“OKAY.” Edge was already on board, no hesitations. He stood up. “SO WHERE ARE THEY?”

Papyrus pointed forward of him. “THEY SHOULD BE SOMEWHERE NEARBY THATAWAY.”

“OKAY, LET'S GO.” Edge was eager to get his brother back, even though he wasn't very far to begin with. _Fuck, if he actually killed him... What would he have done? The reason he kept living in that awful world was BECAUSE of his brother._ The second he pictured his brother unsupervised and unconscious, he got chills crawling on his spine.

They started walking.

  
  


Papyrus kept glancing at Edge and his various scars. He was super curious as how he got them, and how he turned out to be so... threatening. He could only find that it must be timeline related. “SO, UH... WHAT'S YOUR UNIVERSE LIKE?”

Edge looked over at Pap and saw the true look of innocence, something he never thought he would see in himself in any lifetime.

He sighed. “IN MY UNIVERSE, LET'S JUST SAY IN THAT WORLD, IT'S BRUTAL. KILL OR BE KILLED. IN ORDER TO SURVIVE, WE HAVE TO BECOME STRONG. AND THANKS TO THAT, MONSTERS DON'T REALLY CARE FOR EACH OTHER. THEY JUST TOLERATE EACH OTHER. THERE'S NO FRIENDSHIP, ONLY ALLIANCES.” Edge noticed Papyrus looking even more glum than when he came. “DON'T WORRY, CARE MAY NOT BE SHOWN, BUT IT'S STILL THERE. I KNOW FOR A FACT WE AREN'T IN OUR UNIVERSE, OTHERWISE THERE WOULD BE DUST COVERING THE SNOW.”

They were silent for a minute, and Edge spoke up again. “UH, WHAT'S YOUR UNIVERSE LIKE?”

Papyrus looked around for a moment. “ER- I THINK _THIS_ IS MY UNIVERSE.” Edge looked at him with his brow bone raised, and then Papyrus spotted two figures in the snow. “HEY! THERE THEY ARE!” They ran over quickly.

The two skeletons lying in the snow looked near dead, and Papyrus reminded of his own brother's state. He started to tense up at the sight. Edge skimmed the figures carefully.

“WELL, NO TIME TO WASTE. YOU TAKE ORANGE AND I'LL TAKE MY BROTHER.” Edge took his brother and curiously re-checked his stats.

LV: 1

HP: 1/1

“THANK ASGORE.” Edge's tone had calmed. Papyrus took note of this.

Papyrus had grabbed Orange, the orange-hoodie-wearing version of himself. They were silent on their walk back to Blue and Sans.

  
  


Blue had been healing Sans for over 20 minutes. He'd wondered what happened to Papyrus, but quickly waved it off. _He's fine. Focus on healing._ Blue checked Sans' health again.

HP: 0.052/1

_At least there's progress._ Blue's vision started to blur. _Really? Now? You can't afford to stop now!_ His magic was depleting fast. _Well, that's what happens when you use this much healing magic._ The magic he'd been using was meant to heal fatal injuries quickly. The fact that Sans was healing slower meant he was on the furthest edge of being dust. Normally, if anybody else tried to heal Sans, they could only slow the process until he was turned to dust. Blue's experience and knowledge of magic made him special – he's saved a lot of monsters in the past. If he could at least get Sans' HP to 0.1, then he wouldn't dust. That was his goal.

“ER, BLUE?” Papyrus emerged from the trees carrying his brother over his shoulder. Edge followed behind him cradling his brother, keeping him close. Blue looked to them quickly, then back over to Sans. He couldn't afford to lose focus even for a second. He was _determined_.

“THANKS, UM, CAN YOU PUT MY BROTHER BEHIND ME?” Papyrus set Orange behind Blue, spectating the healing process. Edge sat down nearby, still holding on to his brother.

Both Edge and Papyrus were in awe watching the little skeleton use his immense healing magic. They found that being near him at all made the air soft and inviting, as if everything around Blue had a faint healing aura. They both stayed silent.

  
  


  
  


Two hours have passed.

Edge lost track of time, it felt like forever. _This runt really IS powerful if he's keeping THIS up for so long._

Papyrus had calmed down, mostly. He never took his eye off his brother.

  
  


A slight movement and groan disturbed the peace. “ngggh...” Orange Papyrus groaned as he made slow movements to pick himself up, holding his head as if he had the worst hangover of his life. He'd been woken up by a familiar sense of magic. Once he sat up, he looked around, only to find himself confused at looking at two lookalikes of himself, another lookalike of Sans, and then his Sans healing a much more damaged Sans.

Blue was too focused on the healing to be able to greet his brother from waking up. At this point he was sweating and shaking, his magic getting to dangerously low levels. He checked Sans' stats once more.

HP: 0.097/1

_Almost there... Just keep holding on until it hits 0.1..._

“sans?” Orange asked. He held a hand out to grab his shoulder, but then was stopped by Papyrus. “I... DON'T THINK YOU SHOULD DISTURB HIM. HE'S A BIT... PREOCCUPIED.” Papyrus motioned Orange to sit with Edge and himself, so he could explain the situation.

After a long explanation, Orange realized the dire situation of the Sans that Blue was healing. But he'd been healing with this amount of magic for over _two hours_? He couldn't believe it! That would have been a horror show if he broke his attention away from healing. But it's also bad for Blue, Orange knows how many times he's passed out using a lot less magic than this.

 

Orange was still concerned. Out of protective habit, he went on to check everybody's stats.

**BLUE: LV 1 HP 1/1** _Alright, he's still fine._

**PAPYRUS: LV 1 HP 680/680** _Exactly like my stats._

**EDGE: LV 35 HP 5304/5304** _Fuck... how does he have so much LOVE? Does his brother have the same..._

**RED: LV 1 HP 1/1** _Nope, just the other version of me. Considering how the little guy is being cradled, Edge probably killed **for** him. Hell, to protect my bro I'd probably do the same if whatever Papyrus said about Edge's world were true._

**SANS: LV 1 HP 0.098/1** _Holy shit! I didn't know it was THIS bad! Two HOURS and only up to 0.098?_

 

Edge had been quiet the whole time, sometimes looking at Blue, sometimes checking his brother. He seemed harmless enough for Orange not to give him a stare down or beat down. Actually by the looks of it, Edge looked scared. He knows his own expressions more than anyone else.

“y'alright edge?” Orange asked casually. Edge looked up at him looking fairly annoyed, but pleased with his new nickname. “s'okay if you don't wanna answer.”

“NO... IT'S FINE. I SUPPOSE I HAVE TO GET USED TO THIS ANYWAYS.” Edge sat a bit more upright. “I... JUST DON'T LIKE THE IDEA OF MY BROTHER DYING IN _ANY_ UNIVERSE. AND I'VE BEEN QUESTIONING FOR THE PAST 10 MINUTES OR SO...”

“hm?”

“WE ALL KNOW HEALING MAGIC, RIGHT? WHY CAN'T WE ALL HELP BLUE OVER THERE TOGETHER?” Orange was surprised at Edge, wondering why he didn't think of that too. He could see Blue trembling and struggling to continue using this much power.

 

Blue felt a sharp pain hit his SOUL, causing his magic to fluctuate and fade fast. He had to keep the healing magic formed, or else Sans HP will lower again – surely turning him to dust! Only 0.002 HP to heal!

Orange quickly felt Blue's sudden shock, forcing him to run over. It seemed like the others noticed, too. It was only a second and Edge, Papyrus, and Orange were healing both Blue and Sans to the best of their ability.

“...PAP?” Blue looked around, stunned to see his brother up and around. He must not have noticed him getting up - he was so focused on healing that his surroundings became a blur. His magic already started weakening at the 20 minute mark, so he had been worried. He was overjoyed now with the newfound help that he needed to push on. “THANKS, BROTHERS!” His magic was steadying, so he continued the healing process, but this time, he went with full force. A bright green aura shined so bright, it covered all 6 of them and blasted upwards like a beacon.

  
  


**SANS: LV 1 HP 1/1**

  
  


 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have had no sleep, it's 2am and I'm dying, I'm running on 2 hours of sleep for the past 3 days...
> 
> I'm gonna sleep now.  
> -What would you all like to see next?-  
> Leave a comment, I love seeing them!
> 
> Who knows? Your idea might alter the story~


	3. Adjusting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The six skelebros get adjusted to... each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> haha wow yeah sorry for not updating
> 
> i dont have a set plot for this so it's really awkward to write without a plan...  
> enjoy the writing that i was very uncomfortable with releasing for literally a month!
> 
> also my goal for every chapter is at least 3000 words. so uh... yeah.

 

Red felt a sudden burst of magic that woke him up, only to be blinded by a bright green light. Once his eyes adjusted, he found himself lying next to a tree in... Snowdin? That couldn't be right. The scenery was too... happy looking. And not dusty. Or red. He looked forward towards the group of skeletons, now completely confused.

Three Papyruses? Is that another Sans? “what the fuck?” he said aloud, grabbing Edge's attention.

“SANS!” Edge walked towards him quickly, frightening the poor soul, as he tried to crawl away backwards only to be stuck against the tree. Edge brought Red into a tight embrace. “THANK HEAVENS YOU'RE AWAKE. I... I KEPT THINKING THE WORST...” Edge was smiling, with thoughtful tears in his eyesockets. This didn't sound like his brother. But... it sounded like him at the same time. When was the last time Pap hugged him like this?

What even happened?

You know what?

Just... cherish the moment.

  
  


  
  


~-----~

  
  


_**(Other's POV)** _

“WE DID IT!” Blue exclaimed excitedly, jumping in the air.

“yeah bro, we did!” Orange cheered along, in desperate need of a smoke.

Edge found he had a small smile on his face. A distant voice could be heard in the background. “what the fuck?” causing Edge to jump a little, then quickly turn around and head to his brother. “SANS!”

Once they were out of the way, Papyrus sat down next to his still unconscious yet fully healed brother, crying tears of joy. Both Blue and Orange had to hold back an “aww” at the sight of it.

  
  


Blue's adrenaline rush dissolved quickly.

Fatigue spread like wildfire. His grin faded, eyesockets void of light. His SOUL gave him a shock through his whole body, knowing his magic had completely drained-- making him go limp.

Orange caught him before he could fall. Papyrus gave Orange a worried look when Blue collapsed, and Orange wasn't too surprised of this outcome. He was still concerned with his brother so he observed his SOUL carefully. It's still lit like normal, thankfully just a strain on the overuse of magic. He'd be out for a while. Orange gave Papyrus reassurance. "he'll probably be sick for overusing his magic like that. he's fine, though. don't worry about it." Orange was still worried about it.

“i'm proud of you bro.” He kept Blue close and it eased his mind knowing his SOUL wasn't damaged.

  
  


  
  


~-----~

  
  


  
  


As soon as the group of 6 had settled and calmed, Papyrus had motioned them all to go to their house. The sight of them walking was precious. Papyrus had Sans cradled in his arms, as did Orange with Blue, not to mention the adorable sight of the Underfell duo - Edge had been carrying Red, who was very obviously awake, and holding him close. Red was also very obviously enjoying it, as he kept himself snuggled against Edge's ribcage.

Though the townspeople gave them looks of confusion, the six didn't quite care. They'd deal with it later.

The cute affection didn't stop there.

As soon as they got inside, Orange already took over the couch with little Blue laying on top of him and dozed off, leaving the Underswap brother duo cuddling in their sleep. Papyrus brought Sans into his brother's room and set him comfortably on his bed. He scrunched his face with the mess he had. Papyrus told Edge and Red that they could be in his room - since it was much cleaner and more suitable for guests. They both decided they needed a nap too, and though Red already had a pretty long nap, he was still fairly tired. Everyone had fallen asleep, except for Papyrus, who went to scavenge the workshop.

  
  


  
  


~-----~

  
  


  
  


The door was open, but when he tried flipping the lightswitch - it didn't work – finding that the only light source came from outside. He took a glance at the room, his vision adjusting to the darkness.

Had his eyesockets decieved him? The machine was no longer there! He walked into the room to feel around, and sure enough, it just disappeared! The blueprints were missing, too!

Papyrus was suddenly filled with fear. And only one thought actually crossed his mind.

  
  


_Are they really in their universe?_

  
  


This universe was in fact, his own. However, because of the shifts, something became _off_ in the timeline. Besides, well you know. A couple of alternate skelebros intruding. Papyrus still isn't completely sure, and now fears they'll run into another pair of themselves in the future.

  
  


  
  


  
  


  
  


_Well, he isn't wrong._

  
  


  
  


~-----~

  
  


  
  


Orange woke up briefly to see Papyrus come back inside the house, who had an extremely confused look on his face.

"heya pap, y'okay there?" Orange asked with a yawn.

Papyrus looked over at Orange, and he was still buried under Blue. He smiled faintly, and answered, "YES... JUST... THINKING." he looked away, smile fading.

Orange knew that look. It is his own face, after all. "maybe you should get some sleep too, pap." Papyrus nodded, as he went into Sans' room, sat on the floor without closing the door, and fell into a deep sleep.

  
  


After a few hours have passed, Orange took the liberty of setting his brother on the couch and doing a quick check in on everyone else. He popped into Sans' room first, seeing Papyrus on the floor and Sans resting on his bed. _Papyrus must've been really tired, huh?_ He closed the door and went into Papyrus' room. The Underfell duo had been sleeping soundly, and they were very close. This gave Orange a warm smile. _They must be glad to have a break_. He closed the door and went back downstairs.

He was about to head back to sleep with Blue until he heard a knock at the door. _Who the hell...?_ The knocking continued. It got louder by the second. _Persistent, huh?_

"HEY! PAPYRUS!" the knocking continued to get louder, and now there was a voice to add to the mix. "YOU DIDN'T SHOW UP TO TRAINING TODAY! ARE YOU ALRIGHT?" _Undyne?_ Orange was confused. That was most definitely Undyne's voice, but she sounded so loud like Alphys from their universe. He _did_ suppose that Papyrus and Sans were opposites of themselves... so maybe it was a swapped thing? Huh. That explains the Grillby's sign they passed by earlier. Grillby and Muffet must've switched too. This was gonna have to get some getting used to. "HELLO? ARE YOU SKELETONS EVEN HOME?! YOU DIDN'T EVEN PICK UP THE PHONE! YOU NEVER DON'T PICK UP THE PHONE!" Undyne was serious. She wanted in. The knocking got louder somehow. Orange noticed Blue twitch a little. _Shit, she's gonna wake him up! THAT'LL be more of a problem than answering the fucking door._

Orange sighed as he unlocked the door and opened it while she was still knocking and yelling. "PAPy...rus?" she looked at you confused. He sighed. "heya." she gave Orange a menacing look and summoned a spear.

"You aren't Papyrus!" Undyne said. She was quite sure of herself. "WHO ARE YOU?"

Orange's eye sockets widened. "shh!" He was more concerned with making sure Blue didn't get woken up. He stepped outside and closed the door behind him.

"What's going on? Why is your getup like Sans?!" Undyne sounded upset and gripped her spear tighter.

"hey, hey. calm down. listen, we've had a long day and your papyrus is sleeping right now." His SOUL turned green. Now he couldn't move. He let out a low sigh and continued. "undyne please. you really don't want to fight me. i'm trying to expla-"

"You don't sound anything like Papyrus! You aren't making sense!" she lashed out her spears to come from all different directions, without even giving him a spear first. He brought out a bone and deflected them all with his eyesockets closed.

He'd sensed the attacks stopped, so he opened his eyes to find a baffled Undyne and his SOUL had turned back to normal. "You... you're... just like Sans..."

_So Sans in this universe is like me? Huh. So my theory was correct._

"UNDERGROUND TO FAKE PAPYRUS!" Undyne was waving her spear in front of Orange.

"oh right. uh, you can come in if you stay quiet. i'll explain everything inside. and, uh, you can call me orange." Orange brought Undyne inside but she was still on alert, and they both heard a grunt and a stumble coming from Papyrus' room.

"the fuck?" Orange looked up towards Papyrus' room. Undyne was surprised to hear Pap-er- _Orange_ swear. She noticed Blue on the couch looking, if she didn't know better, dead.

"Sans?" she walked over slowly to Blue, which caught Orange's attention, and she was forced backward with blue magic.

"please don't touch my brother unless you have a death wish." he warned in a casual tone.

"Are you threatening me?" she turned, furious. She was very oblivious to the situation.

Papyrus' door flung open, making a loud bang throughout the house. Out came Edge and Red, who both looked _pissed at each other_.

"YOUR CURSED NIGHTMARES DON'T GIVE YOU THE RIGHT TO PUSH ME OFF OF THE BED!"

"oh, i'm sorry _boss_ , it didn't occur to me that i was fucking _unconscious_ for it or anything!"

"DO I DETECT _SARCASM_ IN YOUR VOICE, SANS?"

Blue twitched again in his sleep. Orange noticed. Undyne was struck silent by the commotion.

" **h e y.** " Orange looked up at the two _numbskulls_ causing a ruckus, orange eye flaming. Red and Edge immediately shut their trap and turned to look at him.

Both of their SOULS turned blue. Orange gripped their SOULS hard, and flung them downstairs in front of him. "okay friends _._ we have _company._ " they turned towards Undyne, whose expression was dumbfounded, and turned back to Orange. Their movements were in sync, and they both had the slightest hint of fear. Orange internally chuckled at that. But he turned his serious face back on. "my brother is _still sleeping_. so if you _value your lives_ , you won't _wake him up._ "

Undyne was just baffled at the whole thing, so she took the moment of silence to sit down on the floor where she stood to analyze what was going on. Orange was menacing, that was for sure. Definitely like Sans. Looks like Papyrus. But these red doofuses definitely looked like they wouldn't hesitate killing someone if they wanted to. Red looked anxious and sweaty, but came off as threatening with his attire and sharp teeth, along with that golden tooth of his. Edge looked scary overall, but something in his face screamed that _he_ was the one that would most likely kill if necessary.

"do you understand me?" Orange was trying to threaten them. Red nodded looking dead straight into Orange's flaming eye socket, damn well afraid at this point, not wanting a beat down so soon after recovering. However, Edge just looked to the side and crossed his arms. "edge. buddy. i'm not the one that you should be scared of." Orange let go of Red's SOUL and he skitted away back upstairs in the doorway of Papyrus' room quietly, still listening to the conversation downstairs. Orange pointed to Blue. " _ **he** is._ " Edge perked up his attention to face Orange. "do. you. understand. me?" Edge was hesitant but knows that the marshmallow is strong, but even knowing Blue's magic was pretty drained, he was still _on edge_.

He nodded and went to follow his brother quietly as soon as Orange let go of his SOUL. They both sat at the doorway, conflicted with themselves. Edge was having difficulty sitting still, until he looked at Red, who though anxious, looked worried and concentrated. _That isn't like you Sans. Normally I see you angry and quivering. Then again I'm used to seeing you cower in fear._ Edge let out a small sigh at his thoughts. He used to be the Great Papyrus, captain of the Royal Guard, most feared in the Underground (other than Asgore), with a high standing with his reputation and large body count. Now he's in a foreign place where killing isn't an everyday thing, _he_ was threatened, and his brother isn't completely useless and cowardly. Well... maybe still cowardly.

He wasn't sure which universe was more appealing to him.

  
  


The conversation downstairs continued.

"sorry about that. i don't really know how to explain it shorter, but some shit went wrong and those guys up there and us got pulled into your universe. your pap is sleeping and your sans is recovering from almost dying. my sans is recovering his magic because he overused his healing magic on your sans. luckily he did or your sans would have been dust right now. any questions?" His tone was so casual, it made everyone who was listening uneasy, especially with his laid back attitude.

"Um... are you able to teleport like Sans?" Undyne asked. Orange didn't expect _that_ question. Both Edge and Red shuffled closer in interest. Yeah he could teleport but he damn well didn't like doing it. Made him nauseous, using the void like that. Blue was the one who was an expert with that stuff. Something gave him the feeling that he shouldn't answer this.

"uh... teleport?"

"I... I dunno, you're similar to our Sans so much so it would answer a lot of questions I have for him that he keeps dodging." Orange remained silent. "I caught him do it once, I just don't know how he does it. When I approached him about it all he said was that it was an illusion or some crap."

Orange understood why Sans was being secretive about all this. If his thoughts are true then he knows exactly what to say in this situation. "uh, no, i can't 'teleport', but are you sure that wasn't actually an illusion? you say you caught him _once_. it may as well have been an illusion."

Undyne looked at him with a face full of doubt. "Fuck, you're like him in so many ways. No, he runs off one direction and ends up somewhere completely opposite of where he ran off to, he turned a corner another time and even though I was right behind him, he just disappeared without a trace. That seems like fuckin' teleportation to me."

"eh, sorry undyne. don't know what to say to ya. don't know anything about it." he scratched the back of his skull, trying to inch off the subject.

Red could see his bullshit from a mile away. Edge was still intrigued by the subject of teleportation, considering his brother could do it, and if another Papyrus could teleport, he could too - somehow. Since Red refused to teach him when he caught him teleporting, he forbid the use of magic unless it was self-defense and was not allowed to use it in his presence or he'd be punished. Edge also noticed his bullshit. It is another version of himself, after all.

Undyne grunted. "Fine. I'll be in Waterfall. I don't need to listen to any more lies and crazy universe shit." She got up and left the house, nearly slamming the door until Orange cushioned the door with his magic.

Orange sighed. "at least she isn't as crazy as alphys in our universe."

A quick surge of pain pierced his eye. "ng...fuck-" he stumbled backwards, and Red teleported to catch him before he could fall.

Edge didn't even notice him disappear from his side. He sat there baffled.

"h-hey, you alright there orange?" Red asked, concerned yet still quiet.

Orange recovered his balance before looking at Red. "...yeah it's just... i _really_ don't think i was supposed to take the hit for my brother when we um... went to the shift."

Red looked at him for a moment before realizing that the same crap they went through must've happened in their universe as well. " _you_ took that fuckin' pain _in place_ of that blue idiot? how?"

Edge walked downstairs slowly to hear more.

"first of all, don't call him an idiot. second of all, he isn't used to pain and he was struggling from the fuckin' shifts, so i transferred the pain from him to me. and it _hurt._ third of all, _your papyrus did nothing?_ " Orange made his tone lower than normal with venom in those last few words.

Both Red and Edge flinched at those words, and Orange continued to talk about what happened in their timeline.

"shit, and interrupted from your nap too? that's gotta suck." Red remarked.

Orange and Red sat down on the floor to continue talking. Edge had paused in the middle of the staircase, facepalming himself because it was _his fault_ Red went insane.

Red told Orange his story, and Orange gave Edge a few death glares, only causing Edge to pinch at where his nose would be in frustration towards himself.

"anyways, why would you lie about the teleport thing?" Red asked after he concluded his story. Edge looked up again.

He looked at Red, dumbstruck. "because in this universe, this sans is like me, and he likes being lazy and secretive." that's all he could tell him. He assumes that the Papyrus of this universe didn't even know that teleporting was even possible.

"can blueberry over there teleport, too?"

"yeah, he just has a better connection to the void, unlike me. i get nauseous doing that crap. i dunno how you sanses do it." he chuckled.

Edge was amazed at Red's tone, it was gentle and caring, like when they were baby bones. It actually made him a little jealous - he wished they could be like that again... but he can't show any more weakness. He walked back up to Papyrus' room without feeling the need to be quiet. Red watched his bonehead brother slam the door, and he quietly mumbled under his breath, " _fuckin' idiot_."

"how the fuck do you deal with him?" Orange was a bit peeved at his other self.

"...magic. fuck, i dunno, he never listens to anybody. in fact i'm surprised he hasn't beat my ass when i woke up. or killed me in my sleep." he lets out an annoyed 'tsk' before continuing. "he hasn't told me what the fuck happened. all i remember is in being in the _worst pain of my life_ and trying to convince that _bonehead_ to listen and not kill me for usin' magic."

"whoa dude, are you okay?"

Red flinched. _Right, people actually give a shit in other universes. Play it cool._ "yeah? no? i dunno. i'm not in the right mindset to have a breakdown or anything. and it's nice when he and i have talks like this once in a while. even though it's mainly for uh ...edge... to vent. i learned to be a good listener, because if i didn't listen then..." he shivered. "eh, it's not important."

Orange sat back, wondering even more how life was like in their universe. Seemed like a proper description of hell, sort of. He grabbed Red by the hood and dragged him into his arm. Red didn't protest, but he seemed a lot more anxious under Orange's arm, but Orange thought it was adorable. Orange shut his eyes and, while he didn't seem to sleep, he thought of his surroundings and the need to comfort his brother, no matter what universe.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im still suffering from insomnia... had a good 3 hours of sleep last night. felt nice.
> 
> i'm saying now that updates won't be regular, but they'll be there eventually. might take a month... or two... or three... but uh... it'd be better if i had a set plot for this which i dont so i might need to have help from another writer?
> 
> heheh.... *awkward pause*
> 
> ...if you have any questions DO NOT HESITATE TO ASK THEM.  
> also ideas are very much welcome (comment!)
> 
> Thanks for not yelling at me or anything~

**Author's Note:**

> i feel like i rushed this. yeah i probably rushed it.
> 
> OH WELL WE'LL SEE WHAT HAPPENS NEXT TIME~


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